It's Only The Heat [TharnType 18+]

-25- 🌒 The Man That Left My Bed

"The rogues are siding with my father because he is able to offer them protection. He has a fairly large army, though not quite as large as the army of this pack. If we can convince the Silver Sun Pack to withdraw their support, the rogues will lose their promise of protection and will no longer serve him."

"How can you be so sure?" Team's father, our current Beta, speaks up. "You say you haven't returned to your pack since Zen launched his first attack. How do you know all this?"

All eyes turn back to Lhong. Some distrusting and hostile, but others patient and expectant. For a split second, I saw the Lhong I knew in high school. Timid. Unsure of himself. The wolves are looking at him like he's a traitor they could tear apart at any second, and I could've sworn I saw a sliver of fear in Lhong's eyes.

All of that disappears the moment Thorn squeezes Lhong's hand, giving him an adoring smile. Fear is replaced with confidence as Lhong smiles back and stands taller.

"I have contacts on the inside of the pack," Lhong informs us. "They don't like the path Zen is going down, and believe it's time for him to be replaced."

"Replaced? By who? You? You're not of age."

"True," Lhong nods his head in agreement. "But our pack laws state that if the members of the pack believe the Alpha is no longer fit to lead, it can be taken to a vote to force the Alpha to step down, and the next Alpha would take his place. If I take over as Alpha, I can call off the attacks."

"That's a genius idea, Lhong," my dad speaks up. He turns to me, as I haven't spoken a word during this entire meeting. "Tharn? What are your thoughts?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Whatever gets this war over with the quickest, and gets Lhong back to his own pack where he belongs."

Lhong flushes, while Thorn shoots me a deadly glare that I ignore. My dad studies me for a moment before addressing the wolves once more.

"Let's take a brief break," dad tells them. "Tharn, a word?"

We step out into the backyard, and my father releases a heavy sigh as soon as he closes the back door.

"You can't say things like that, Tharn," dad scolds me. "We need to stand united if we want the rest of the pack to follow us. If the wolves sense you don't trust Lhong, they won't trust him either."

"I don't trust Lhong," I tell him candidly. "He's conniving, and untrustworthy, and how do we know he's not manipulating all of us? Manipulating Thorn?"

"Enough!" He growls at me, making me blink in surprise. "I understand that you are upset over Type's absence, but that is not an excuse to take it out on Lhong. Whatever happened between you two in the past is just that. In the past. Now, he's your brother's mate. He's family, whether you like it or not. You know as well as I how much physical pain it would cause him to betray Thorn, so we don't have to worry about something like that happening. Thorn is happy. He is truly happy for the first time since his return, and I will not allow you to take that from him. Do I make myself clear?"

I wordlessly nod my head, stunned speechless. It's been quite a while since my dad has been so firm with me. In fact, I don't think he's been angry with me since I broke my mother's handmade vase while wrestling with Techno when we were children.

Dad breathes out through his nose, closing his eyes to help calm himself. He reopens his eyes, looking a lot more relaxed than before.

"You're hurting," he says softly. "I get it. I'm sorry this is happening to you. I wish I could say everything will be alright, but it's difficult when you won't tell me exactly why Type disappeared." I grimace, not wanting to get into the awkward conversation about how I slept with the future Alpha of a rival pack, who turned out to be my brother's mate. Nothing is more uncomfortable than finding out your one-night stand is going to be your brother-in-law. "Take a few minutes. Go for a walk. Clear your head. Come back when you're ready to take part in the pack meeting."